THE LOST BROTHER
Summer 1954, McCauley Farm Mountain View Tennessee
It was summer 1954 and Danny Walker McCauley Jr was twelve years old. It had been nine years since world war II ended. It had been nine years since his father had taken him up in the crop duster plane and taught him how to fly. Nine years had flown by and he had three younger brothers: Rafe Jr., eight, Henry James, five, and Joey whom everyone called Little GI Joe, three. He taught each and every one of his brothers how to fly the crop duster and now he was teaching little Joe, the youngest how to fly also. He loved teaching his brothers how to man the crop duster plane and how to maneuver it and everything! And his brothers caught on quick! Even little Joe after just a few weeks was able to do the most basic maneuvers! Most of the summer in fact was spent playing army pilot and war. It was on such a day that they were playing war and army pilots though, that him and his youngest brother got in a scuffle.
"Alright soldiers! A-ten-tion!" Danny Jr said in his most army general like voice.
All three brothers stood at attention like stone statues at Arlington national cemetary.
"We're at war! The Japanese have invaded! We're being bombed! Rafe you and I will take the front defense and man the 50 Cal! Henry and Joe you stand in the back and get guns in the tower!" Danny Jr commanded pointing at the tree house.
"Yes sir!" two out of three brothers bellowed, saluting their oldest brother. As the two of them took their positions, Rafe in the front with Danny and Henry in the tree house, little Joe pouted and wimpered.
"Awww Dan Dan! I wanna be fwont!" Little Joe whined.
"Well soldier you're too little to man a real gun and plane! So no!" Danny shouted stubbornly. "Get in back!
"Awww Dan Dan! Don't wanna! Paweese!"
"No! You're too little and Henry and you are just learning! You'll get hurt!"
"I won't! I won't! Look!" Little Joe squealed. Joe eagerly ran and picked up his oldest brother's red ryder beebee gun. He pointed it and was about to pull the trigger when Danny screamed, "Joe! NO!" and in a quick decision lunged at his brother before he got the chance to fire it, tackling him to the ground and pining him down while Rafe Jr grabbed the gun out of his hand and secured the weapon.
"Next time I tell you no it's no! You do something like that in a real war you'll kill somebody or end up getting killed!" Danny yelled at his brother. " So stop it and listen!" Then without another thought in his head he slugged his three year old brother, HARD! Little Joe screamed bloody murder and cried with tears flowing like rain from his eyes. Blood streamed a little bit out of his nose. All the brothers stopped playing and just stood there stunned at what had happened. Danny especially stood there frozen by his actions, stoic, unable to move. For several minutes no one said or did anything while Joe just continued crying with wild abandon!
Finally former army captain, Rafe McCauley came running from doing inventory for the crop duster business in the barn, to see what the commotion was. His wife, former navy nurse, Evelyn Johnson was still at work so he would have to handle this himself. When he got to the backyard area where their treehouse was, he looked from one brother to another, then to Joe, crying, and with blood coming out of his nose.
"Danny! What the hell happened here?" Rafe demanded, glaring at his oldest son.
"It was an accident dad! Honest!" Danny explained, panicked.
"Yea dad! It was!" Rafe chimed in, along with Henry.
"Enough! One at a time! Danny, an explanation!" Rafe Sr. demanded of his oldest son, named after his best friend Danny Walker.
"We were playing war and Joe wasn't listening to me and he took the Red Ryder and was gonna shoot it. So Rafe and I took it from him and I punched him by accident. I didn't mean it dad, honest! I was just so mad!"
"Just so mad that you punched your brother! Well how would you like it if I punched you boy!" Rafe Sr. said angrily, getting ready to punch his son.
"No Dadda!" Joe squealed pleadingly, running up to his father, clinging to his legs, willing him not to. "Accigent!"
His father lowered his fist and said, "Danny! You're grounded! No playing war! No crop plane priveleges and definitely no TV! Apologize to your brother immediately! Out to the farm! You boys got work to do!"
Four miserable boys sulked and sauntered over to the farm area. Rafe Jr. pulled weeds. Henry watered crops. Danny helped clean Joe's nose and black eye up and then went to his room to brood. What a rotten and miserable day! Why couldn't Joe have just listened? Why did he always have to be the one that ruined everything? For several moments Danny just lay on his bed thinking about what he had done while the radio played Moonlight serenade. Eventually he fell asleep and dreamed. He dreamed about him and Joe. They were grown up GI's, fighting in war with his other brothers. Danny was commanding their platoon. Suddenly the enemy got a hold of their position. Danny ordered all the brothers to certain key spots to take out the enemy. Joe stayed in front, refusing to listen. Instead he put himself on the front lines to defend his brother. Then, a puff of smoke, and he disappeared… when the smoke cleared, Joe was gone, disappeared without a trace. Danny stood frozen. He tried to move but he couldn't. He tried to call and scream for his brother but no sound came out. His other two brothers were yelling at him but their words were unintelligible. It was like time stood still… Finally Danny was able to bellow out, "JOE!" and then he woke up. Danny looked around the room. There was no war. No enemy. No bombs. No smoke. No gun fire. It was just a dream. Nothing more; nothing less. Then why did it shake him to his core? A guilty conscience? Maybe. He didn't know. He vowed to apologize to Joe and teach him the proper way to use the Red Ryder the first chance he got. After all, he'd learned the crop duster plane quickly, why not the beebee gun?
Around sunset that night his mom, Former naval nurse Liuetenant Evelyn Johnson, now VA hospital nurse came home and prepared dinner. They were having rib eye steak and red potatoes with corn on the cob! The smells from the kitchen wafted up to the room he shared with his younger brother Rafe Jr. and was wonderful! Henry James and Joe shared the room just down the hall. The dinner bell rang a little while later and Evelyn called them down to dinner like a herd of cattle. At dinner that night Rafe Sr. said grace and they ate in silence. No one wanted to talk about what transpired earlier in the afternoon.
Finally Evelyn broke the silence when they were all settling down to dessert and eating pecan pie.
"Anybody care to tell me why Joe has a black eye?"
"No." The boys and Rafe Sr said in unison.
For several minutes more they ate and finished their dessert in silence.
Finally, later that night, when the boys were all supposed to be in bed, Rafe spoke to his wife. Danny Jr. sat at the stairs though, and heard every word.
"Danny played a little rough with Joe and punched him and got him good with a shiner."
Evelyn was about to say something when Rafe Sr. replied, "Don't worry I grounded him and made him clean his brother up and apologize. No war play anymore."
"Rafe they shouldn't be influenced by war play anyway. Especially danny! I can't believe you would even allow that to be encouraged in our household!"
"Aw come on Evelyn! They're boys! It's in their blood. It's what they do."
"How can you say that after what happened with Danny?" Evelyn said, mortified.
"Look Evelyn I couldn't stop Danny from taking his life to save mine in the Doolittle raid even if I tried. That shouldn't deter what my sons play and not play. Besides they know to keep each other safe. That's how the fight started. Joe grabbed the Red Ryder b" Rafe started to say.
"He WHAT!" Evelyn gasped. "He shouldn't be playing with that! He's only three! He'll shoot his eye out!"
"He grabbed it but Danny took it from him and yelled at him for it and he got so mad he accidentally hit him because he was scared! He made sure it didn't happen. He was responsible. Probably shouldn't have grounded him but he did need to be taught a lesson for hitting his brother."
At that point Evelyn relaxed and agreed that while Danny had acted responsibly he shouldn't have hit his brother. As he peered through the banister on the stairs Danny saw his mom and step dad take a picture of Danny Sr. and stare at it.
" He looks just like Danny and in a lot of ways has his personality traits. However the protective side he gets from you," Evelyn smiled.
"Well his brothers tend to need it from time to time, especially Little Joe. That kid can be so reckless sometimes," Rafe Sr. chuckled. Evelyn chuckled with him and as his mom and step dad continued to reminisce Danny Jr drifted upstairs, remembering his dream and his promise to apologize to little Joe. He crept into Joe's room. He took Joe in his arms and gave him the biggest hug ever, squeezing him until he stirred. He had no idea Danny Sr, his biological father had stepped in front to take bullets from Japanese soldiers that were meant for Rafe. Just the idea made him feel even guiltier for some reason about what he said to Joe and his dream popped into his head, to fresh still for him to forget.
"I'm sorry Joe. I know that you just wanted to be a big kid and be a hero in the war play. I just was scared you would hurt yourself because you are so little. I didn't mean to punch you. I'm so sorry. I love you so much!" Danny whispered.
"It's otay!" Joe whispered back, so forgiving and so full of innocence. All was forgiven.
"It's just you're my little brother and it's my job to protect you. If it makes you feel any better I can show you how to do the beebee gun tomorrow."
"OTAY" Joe said in agreement.
"I'll always protect you no matter what," Danny promised.
"And me too to you!" Joe responded.
Danny laughed, not understanding the magnitude later on of what that would mean later.
Joe and Danny went together the next night and Danny taught him all he needed to know about the beebee gun and they shared a moment. They later fell asleep in each others arms, vowing to be each others protector forever.